Original Ottoman Turkish Text

Metre: Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün

Şöyle kim dil ḫânesinde mihr-i cânân gizlüdür
Nitekim cânda elif ten içre hem cân gizlüdür
Dâmenin öp devlet isterseñ yüzüñ sür pâyına
Derdine vir cânuñ ey dil k'anda dermân gizlüdür
Ḳaşı bismillâh ile oḳı cemâli muṣḥafın
Küfr-i zülfinde gör anuñ nice îmân gizlüdür
Leblerinden dişleri naẓmın gören dir gûyiyâ
Ḥoḳḳa-i yâḳût içinde dürr ü mercân gizlüdür
Müdde‘îyi güldürüp aġlatmasun diñ beni yâr
Ġarḳa virür ‘âlemi yaşumda ṭûfân gizlüdür
Ġam degül ṭutsa ḫaṭı yârüñ ‘iẕârı çevresin
Ẓulmetüñ içinde lâ-büd âb-ı ḥayvân gizlüdür
Ġamzesi oḳlarına sînem nişân olalı âh
Yâr bilür yüregümde nice peykân gizlüdür
Ġuṣṣasın dilde görüp ṣordı ḫayâli ben didüm
Ḫayli müddetdür derûnumda bu mihmân gizlüdür
Āşikâre bûse cerr itdüm lebinden didi yâr
‘Ārif ol ‘ârif ḳatında luṭf u iḥsân gizlüdür
‘Aşḳ bir sırr-ı İlâhîdür ne bilsün mübtedî
Ḥamdü-lillâh Mihrî câhilden bu ‘irfân gizlüdür

In English

1. In the house of the heart the love of the beloved is hidden, just as the alif is hidden in the word "cân" and the life is hidden within the body. (In Arabic letters the word "cân" is written with cim, alif and nun; the alif lies hidden in the middle, between the two letters. "Mihr" means both love and sun; the poet's pen name comes from this word.)

2. If you want fortune and happiness, kiss her skirt, rub your face on her feet; O heart, give your life to the sorrow she gives, for the remedy is hidden in that sorrow.

3. Read the Mushaf of her face, beginning with the bismillah of her brow; see how much faith is hidden in the unbelief of her tress. (The face is likened to a page of the Qur'an and the brow to the bismillah at the head of the page. One meaning of "küfr" is also to cover, darkness; the black tress is likened to unbelief because it veils the face.)

4. Whoever sees the arrangement of her teeth between her lips says, "It is as if pearls and coral were hidden inside a ruby casket." (The red lips are likened to a ruby casket, the white teeth to pearls. "Naẓm" means both a row and a poem.)

5. Tell her not to make the rival laugh and me weep; in my tears a flood that will drown the world is hidden. (In manuscripts F and S "dek" is read instead of "diñ": "Let the beloved not make the rival laugh and me weep.")

6. Even if the down of the fine hair surrounds the beloved's cheek, there is no cause for grief; surely the water of life is hidden within the darkness. (The cheek is likened to the water of life, and the down around it to the land of darkness, Zulumât, where the water of life is found.)

7. Ah, since my breast became a target for the arrows of her glance, the beloved knows how many arrowheads are hidden in my heart.

8. Seeing the grief in my heart, her image asked about it; I said, "This guest has been hidden within me for a long time." (The couplet can be read in two ways: the guest hidden within may be the grief, or the image of the beloved herself, settled in the heart.)

9. I asked for a kiss from her lip openly; the beloved said, "Be a knower; in the presence of the knower grace and favour are kept hidden." (I asked, and was given.)

10. Love is a divine secret, how should the beginner know it; Mihrî, thank God, this knowledge is hidden from the ignorant. (The couplet can be read in two ways: this is the meaning if "Mihrî" is taken as a vocative; it can also be understood as "hidden from Mihrî and from the ignorant".)

Literary and Historical Commentary

Structure of the Poem

The forty-first ghazal (gazel) of the divan has ten couplets (beyit) and is written in the aruz (quantitative metre) pattern "Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilâtün Fâ‘ilün", of the remel metre. The rhyme is the sound "-ân" (cânân, cân, dermân, îmân, mercân, ṭûfân, ḥayvân, peykân, mihmân, iḥsân, ‘irfân), and the redif (refrain word) is "gizlüdür" (is hidden). The ghazal is found in all four manuscripts (F 44b, M 60b, S 46b, Ü 36b). In manuscript F the places of the sixth and eighth couplets differ. There is no record of whom it was written for.

The redif "gizlüdür" gives the whole ghazal an order: each couplet points to something hidden behind what is visible. Love in the heart, remedy in sorrow, faith in unbelief, pearls in the lips, a flood in tears, the water of life in darkness, an arrowhead in the heart, a guest within, grace in the presence of the beloved and, in the end, knowledge hidden from the ignorant. The poem thus opens a series of secret treasures one by one.

Meaning and Figures of Speech

The opening couplet is built on letters and words. When the word "cân" is written in Arabic letters, the alif remains between two letters; the poet sets this beside the life hidden in the body and the love hidden in the house of the heart. The fact that "mihr" means both love and sun also makes a connection with the poet's pen name.

In the second couplet, kissing the skirt and rubbing the face on the feet are the old gestures of asking favour and help from a superior. Gülşen Kaya says that in the divan expressions such as "kissing the skirt, holding the skirt" describe seeking aid and making requests, and gives this couplet as an example. The opposition between sorrow and remedy at the end of the line is the art of tezat (antithesis): looking for the remedy in the sorrow itself rests on the idea in divan poetry that the pain of love is a beloved pain.

The third couplet uses an old conceit that likens the beloved's face to the Qur'an. Kaya notes that the likening of the face to a Mushaf leads to the likening of the brow to the "bismillah" at the head of this holy page and verse. The tress is called "küfr" because of its blackness and because it covers the face; the poet builds an antithesis by bringing the words unbelief and faith together in the same line. That faith is hidden in the unbelief of the tress is understood as the dark tress holding the bright face within.

The fourth couplet is a well-known example of the description of lips and teeth in divan poetry. Kaya says that the lips, for their shape and redness, are called "ḥoḳḳa-i yâḳût" (ruby casket), and the teeth are likened to the jewels in this casket; she adds that the pearl, for its whiteness and brilliance, is an element of comparison for teeth and is mentioned together with coral in almost every couplet. The fact that "naẓm" means both a row and a poem ties the arrangement of the teeth to the lines of a poem.

The sixth couplet is built with the art of telmih (allusion). Kaya notes that the down covering the cheek is likened to the land of darkness, Zulumât, in which the water of life is found, and gives this couplet as an example in two separate sections. The phrase "ġam degül" (no cause for grief) stands as an answer to those who see the appearance of the down as a loss; the poet shows the darkness not as a diminution but as a veil that hides the water of immortality.

The ninth couplet is a short conversation scene. The lover openly asks for a kiss from the beloved's lip, and the beloved says that he should be a knower and that grace must be kept hidden. The contrast between "âşikâre" (openly) and hidden, and the repetition "‘ârif ol ‘ârif", build the harmony of the couplet.

The closing couplet (makta) ends the ghazal with a mystical thought. According to Kaya, irfan (spiritual knowledge) is not knowledge learned in the madrasa but is obtained only through love and the heart, as a grace of God; love, being a divine secret, opens its doors only to the knower. Kaya also notes that this couplet can be understood in two ways: it can be read as "Mihrî, thank God this knowledge is hidden from the ignorant", or the meaning may be drawn that this knowledge is hidden from Mihrî as well. The word "‘ârif" in the preceding couplet and "‘irfân" in this one come from the same root and link the last two couplets.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Mehmet Arslan (ed.), Mihrî Hâtun Dîvânı, Ankara: T.C. Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı Yayınları (Kültür Eserleri Dizisi 576), 2018, p. 72, Gazel 41 (F 44b, M 60b, S 46b, Ü 36b). ekitap.ktb.gov.tr

Academic studies

  • Gülşen Kaya, Mihrî Hâtun Divânı'nın Tahlili, master's thesis, Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Elazığ 2010, p. 53, 76, 153, 170, 178, 291, 293. openaccess.firat.edu.tr
  • Sabiha Gemici, Mihrî Hatun Divanı: Karşılaştırmalı Metin, Cümle Yapısı ve Cümle Türleri, doctoral thesis, Uludağ Üniversitesi, Balıkesir 1990 (comparative text of the ghazal and notes on manuscripts).

Online sources